Supervisors accept Gerachis proposal to buy Aldie Assemblage

In the final minutes of the July 6 Loudoun County Board of Supervisors closed session, all eight supervisors present affirmed the Gerachis Construction Group, LLC’s purchase of three parcels in the historic village of Aldie.

Chair Phyllis J. Randall moved and Leesburg District Supervisor Kristen C. Umstattd seconded the motion that “the Board of Supervisors accept the proposal from Gerachis Construction Group, LLC to the Aldie Assemblage Properties, PIN #361-45-5744, 361-45-8246 and 361-45-9838 consisting of 6.31 acres of land, more or less, and hereby authorize and direct the County Administrator to execute a contract of sale in the amount of $600,000 approved as to form by the Attorney.”

While absent for the vote, Blue Ridge District Supervisor Tony Buffington (R), had made clear his preference of proposals—Gerachis versus the denser and more commercial project put forward by developers John A. “Jack” Andrews and Leonard “Hobie” Mitchel of the Aldie Community Development Company. At the Board’s April 20 business meeting, Buffington said, “For me, there’s one offer on the table”—the Gerachis proposal—”and I’m in support of it.”

In addition to the payment, Gerachis, a 30-year-resident of Aldie and award-winning historic restorations contractor, will restore and/or renovate the properties’ three major structures primarily for residential use and clear away decrepit outbuildings. “Over time,” he added, “depending on the ultimate disposition of the existing fire house, a community center could be visualized.” 

The Gerachis proposal has had the enthusiastic support of most Aldie residents and area preservation organizations, including the Aldie Heritage Association, Loudoun Historic Village Alliance, Piedmont Environmental Council, Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area Association, Loudoun County Preservation and Conservation Coalition, and the Coalition of Loudoun Towns (COLT).

COLT’s members—the mayors of the County’s seven towns—also endorsed the Gerachis proposal in a letter to the Board of Supervisors:   

“The Aldie assemblage has been a challenge for the Board for a number of years…[It] was purchased, rightly so, by the County [for a new fire station] to preserve the village and community environment of Aldie. You have been patient and deliberate in trying to find an appropriate solution and a partner to put it back in private use, but in a way that sustains the goals you set out when you originally bought it.

“The Gerachis proposal does just that. Accordingly, we enthusiastically support your acceptance of their offer and stand ready to assist you and the citizens of Aldie as you move forward with this effort.”

The letter was signed by Kelly Burk, mayor of Leesburg; Bridge Littleton, Middleburg, Nate Fontaine, Lovettsville; Kwasi Fraser, Purcellville; Scott T. Ramsey, Round Hill; David R. Simpson, Hamilton, and Roger Vance, Hillsboro.

Upon learning of the board vote, Madeline Skinner, chair of the Loudoun Historic Village Alliance, said, “For our current and future efforts to save our rural historic villages, the Board of Supervisors’ decision to maintain a rural look and feel in the Village of Aldie gives us hope for our other villages. We thank the board for listening to our concerns.”